Why Does My Cat Sleep So Much?

How often have you looked at your cat and thought “seriously cat, how many hours in a day can you actually sleep”?

The short answer is that most cats will sleep between 12 and 16 hours every day, and there are a few reasons for this:

3 reasons why cats sleep so much:

Domesticated cats still retain the hunting instincts of their wild cat cousins and hunting takes up a tremendous amount of energy when you need to stalk, pounce, and chase your prey for an uncertain period of time. Cats aren’t scavengers, and in the wild their prey needs to be fresh, requiring them to ambush their prey and apply short and intense bursts of energy;

No doubt you’ve recognised that your cat is most active in the early evening. At Cat Habitat HQ we call this The Bewitching Hour, when Pussa and Soph appear to go bonkers by jumping at shadows, pouncing on their Fur Balls and launching attacks on the Pet Parent’s legs. In the wild this is the time of day when much of their prey is also active and their likelihood of hunting success is much higher. Thus, this spike in activity late in the day means that they spend most of the daylight hours sleeping to conserve energy;

Just like humans, when your cat is not feeling well, they will sleep more so their body can focus on healing. Also, older cats are likely to sleep more than other adult cats.

So does it matter where cats sleep? To you…probably. To your cat…less so. Your cat’s requirements are pretty basic – it should be warm, cosy and THEIR territory. Each cat will like something a bit different and the options available to Pet Parents are extensive. When we designed our sleep range we looked at Pussa and Soph’s behaviour and determined that sometimes they like to have something deep that they can snuggle down into like our Cat Cot.

Simba lives in Sth Africa and obviously loves her Slumber Yard especially in the morning sun

Other times something that’s shallower while still providing a degree of “protection” is called for. Our Slumber Yards are made with a wooden frame which is 10cm high making it ideal for older cats who might be less mobile.

Otherwise you can opt for a cat blanket-style bed like our Feline Futon. The advantage of these are that you can put them anywhere that your cat likes to sleep. At Cat Habitat HQ we have them on the sofa, the Pet Parent bed, dining chairs….well you get the idea. They are washable, and completely luxurious!

Whatever you, or more precisely your feline, chooses as their preferred cat bed make sure that it’s somewhere that isn’t in a high traffic area and feels cosy. If that happens to be in your bedroom, then join the club!